Light-weight corrugated desk

ABSTRACT

A light-weight corrugated collapsible desk is provided for use at conventions, hotels, schools, homes and the like. The desk, which can be easily assembled or disassembled, includes at least a pair of spaced pedestal shells, each of the shells containing a plurality of differently sized sliding drawers, a modesty panel which locks across the spaced pedestal shells, and a self-edged desk top disposed above and engaging each of the spaced pedestal shells.

o United States Patent 1191 1111 3,807,823 Rouse 1451 Apr. 30, 1974 [54]LIGHT-WEIGHT CORRUGATED DESK 1,930,348 10/1933 Parrott 3l2/l95 X2,174,679 10/1939 Zinser 108/157 [75] Inventor George Rouse Malvem3,729,244 4/1973 Butler 312/195 [73] Assignee: Joseph R. Orie, ArlingtonHeights,

111. a part interest Primary Examiner-James C. Mitchell Filed: Dec. 1972Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Raymond P. Niro [21] Appl. No.: 317,632 [57]ABSTRACT A light-weight corrugated collapsible desk is provided [52]U.S. Cl 312/195, 108/157, 312/259, r us at n n hotels, schools. homesand the 312/261 like. The desk, which can be easily assembled or disas-[51] Int. Cl A47b 17/00 sembled, includes at least a pair of spacedpedestal [58] Field of Search 312/195, 258, 259, 261; shells, each ofthe shells containing a plurality of dif- 108/ 150, 157 ferently sizedsliding drawers, a modesty panel which locks across the spaced pedestalshells, and a self- [56] Refere es Cit d edged desk top disposed aboveand engaging each of UNITED STATES PATENTS 4/1902 Jordan 312/261 UX thespaced pedestal shells.

8 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures PATENTEB IPR 30 I874 SHEET 3 UF 3 55 59 +6550 a] 22 :79 56 BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relatesgenerally to collapsible desks and specifically to strong, light-weightcorrugated desks that can be easily stored or disassembled and yet whenassembled are sturdy and rigid by reason of the interlocking nature ofthe various desk components.

A rather significant need has developed for a lowcost, light-weightcollapsible desk that can be rapidly assembled and used at conventions,hotels, schools, seminars and the like. In particular, an urgent needhas developed for a commercial size desk that has a pleasing aestheticappearance, that has multiple drawers of different sizes for storage andfiling, that can be repeatedly assembled and disassembled withoutsacrificing strength or appearance.

Currently, most collapsible desks are either far too small and lack theappearance, strength and storage space of typical office size desks orare too large, contain rigid metal parts, are expensive and cannot bemoved or shipped without substantial risk of bending or damaging theinterior metal framework. It is desirable, therefore, to provide alow-cost, easily assembled corrugated desk that is strong and rigid andyet can be repeatedly assembled, disassembled, and stored or movedwithout serious risk of damage to permanent or semi-permanent framework.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with this invention, a low-cost,light weight, collapsible corrugated desk is provided which includes atleast a pair of spaced pedestal shells, designed to house a plurality ofdifferently sized, slidable drawers, a multi-layered self-edged top forthe desk, and an interlocking modesty panel spaced between theoppositely disposed pedestal shells.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The collapsible corrugated desk ofthis invention will for a pedestal shell for the assembled corrugateddesk.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION One embodiment of the corrugateddesk of this invention is shown fully assembled in FIG. 1. The assembleddesk generally comprises two oppositely disposed pedestal shells 11 and12 which not only form a support be more readily understood by referenceto the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an assembled corrugated desk embodimentof this invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a file type drawer for the corrugateddesk shown in an unassembled state;

FIG. 3 is'a perspective view of a letter size drawer for the corrugateddesk, also shown in an unassembled state;

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the corrugated desk in anunassembled state, showing the various parts of the desk and the mannerin which the unas-- sembled parts can be easily placed together to forman assembled desk;

FIG. 5 is a transverse sectional view of the desk taken through apedestal shell and illustrating the manner in which the drawer dividersand drawers for the desk are disposed within the pedestal shell and themanner in which the desk top and modesty panel are secured to the twopedestal shells;

FIG. 6 is a fragmented sectional view taken across line 6-6 of FIG. 5and showing in greater detail the manner in which the various drawerscan be secured within one of the pedestal shells; and

FIG. 7 is a fragmented sectional view taken across line 77 of FIG. 6illustrating the interior construction surface to a self-edged desk top13, but also house a plurality of slidable drawers 14, 15, 16, 17, 18,and 19. Drawers 16 and 19 are larger file-size drawers and are shown inmore detail in FIG. 2. Drawers 14, 15, 17 and 18, on the other hand, aresmaller letter-size drawers and are illustrated more specifically inFIG. 3. Each of the slidable drawers is designed to be slidably receivedwithin either of the pedestal shells 11 or 12. In addition, each draweris provided with a pull handle 20 so that it can be easily gripped byhand and then moved forwardly or backwardly into and out of the pedestalshells 11 or 12.

As shown in FIG. 1, the corrugated deskof this invention is alsoprovided with a modesty panel 21 secured to the opposite inside ends 22and 23 of pedestal shells l2 and 11, respectively. Besides allowing afemale to work comfortably at the corrugated desk of this invention,modesty panel 21 also vastly increases the overall strength of theassembled desk by locking pedestal shells 11 and 12 together.

As shown more specifically in FIG. 2, the larger filesize drawer 19,like the other parts for the corrugated desk of this invention, isinitially constructed from a flat piece of corrugated cardboardmaterial. Side walls 24 and 25 are formed from a single thickness ofcorrugated material, while front and back walls 26 and 27 are formedfrom a triple thickness of corrugated material. Specifically, front wall26 comprises an inner flap 28, two intermediate flaps 29 and 30 whichare connected along their edges to side walls 24 and 25 respectively,and outer flap 31 which is connected along folding edge 32 to base 33and along an opposite folding edge 34 to inner flap 28. In this way, asshown in FIG. 2, front wall 26 is assembled merely by foldingintermediate flaps 29 and 30 inwardly until each of them isperpendicularly disposed to side walls 24 and 25, and then bringingouter flap 31 and inner flap 28 into an adjacent relationship withintermediate flaps 29 and 30, inner flap 28 being disposed on the insidepart of flaps 29 and 30 while outer flap 29 is disposed outside flaps 29and 30. The entire construction is locked in place merely by bringingthe projecting locking surfaces 35 and 36 on inner wall 28 intoengagement with notches 37 and 38 formed along folding edge 32.

The triple walled construction for front wall 26 is identical in allrespects to that of back wall 27. As shown in FIG. 2, for example,locking means 39 and 40 are also provided on back wall 37 to lock theentire back wall construction firmly into place.

Handles 20, which are preferably constructed from a bendable plasticmaterial, are easily twistedv into place on drawer 19 by first forcingedges 41 and 42 of handle 20 through die-slot openings 43 and 44 formedin outer flap 31 and openings 45 and 46 of intermediate flaps 30 and 29,and secondly by releasing twisted edges 41 and 42 of handle 20 so thatthey can lock in place between inner flap 38 and intermediate flaps 29and 30. In particular, edges 41 and 42 of handle 20 are provided with avertically oriented locking structure which is first '3 twisted into ahorizontal position to fit through die-slots 43 and 44 and openings 45and 46, and then released after passing through these openings so thatthey can assume their normal vertical orientation and lock handlessecurely in place.

The letter-size drawer 18, shown in FIG. 3 is identical in all respectswith file-size drawer 19, shown in FIG. 2, except that it is smallerthan file-size drawer 19. The use of both larger file-size drawers andsmaller lettersize drawers in the corrugated desk of this inventionprovides a great deal of flexibility in'both storage and usage and is aparticular advantage of the corrugated desk of this invention.

Turning specifically now to FIG. 4, it can readily be seen that thecorrugated desk of this invention is quite easily assembled from thebasic pedestal shell and desk top components. Pedestal shells 11 and 12,as shown in FIG. 4, have a two-part construction. Each pedestal shell isprovided with an outer shell 61 having a wood grain finished exterior,and an inner shell 62, which is designed to hold a series of drawerdividers 63 and which fits within outer shell 61. Each of the' drawerdividers 63 are spaced within inner shell 62 at locations correspondingto the appropriate heights for the lettersize and file-size slidingdrawers. In addition, each of the drawer dividers 63 is secured at thelateral edges by means of stapled flaps 64 which are fixedly attached-tothe exterior walls 65 of each inner shell 62. Prior to assembly,therefore, each of the inner shells 62 can be easily collapsed merely byflattening the entire inner shell structure. Similarly, the outer shells61 can also be easily collapsed into a flattened shape when not in usemerely by folding opposite walls 66 and 67 together into an adjacentrelationship.

Upon insertion of inner shells 62 into outer shells 61, fold-back flaps68 are rotated backwards, as shown in FIG. 4, until they are directlyadjacent and lie against the inner walls of inner shells 62. In thisway, fold-back flaps 68 provide further structural support for drawerdividers 63 and, in addition, help rigidize the entire desk assembly.Openings 69 are provided in the walls of the inner shells 62 and outershells 61. After insertion of the inner shell 62 into the outer shell61, the openings are in aligned relationship and are ready to receivelower tabs 70 of modesty panel 21.

Specifically, and as shown in FIG. 4, modesty panel 21 is a generallyV-shaped corrugated sheet having lower tabs 70, adapted to be insertedand locked into openings 69 of outer shell 61, and upper tabs 71 whichfold over the upper edges 72 of the outer shells 61. Thus, uponassembly, the modesty panel 21 is simply locked into position betweenthe oppositely disposed walls of outer shells 61 and then spread into aV-shaped support. In this way, the modesty panel 21 improves the overallstructural integrity of the assembled desk by serving as a V-shapedbrace between the oppositely disposed pedestal shells 12 and 12.

After assembly of the pedestal shells and modesty panel, final assemblyof the corrugated desk requires that the three-piece desk top be securedover top of the oppositely disposed pedestal panels. As shown in FIG. 4,desk 13 is constructed from self-edged top panel 80, intermediatesupport panel 81 and lower panel 82. Preferably, the exterior of the toppanel 80 is provided with a wood grain finish and a self-edged extensionlip 83 which surrounds the assembled desk to improve the overallaesthetic appeal of the desk. Intermediate panel 81 is typicallyconstructed from a one piece 700 psi test superboard corrugated materialand is disposed between the top panel 80 and lower panel 82 to increasethe strength of the assembled desk. Lower panel 82 is likewisepreferably constructed from 700 psi test superboard corrugated materialto further increase the rigidity and strength of the assembled desk.

Upon assembly, lower panel 82 is first placed over top of the pedestalshells with edge 84 extending downwardly between the walls of the outershells 66 and inner shells 65. Then, intermediate panel 81 is placedover top of lower panel 82. Finally, top panel 80 is secured overintermediate panel 81, with edges 83 and 85 extending downwardly in aself-edged manner along the entire periphery of the desktop.

The specific design characteristics and interlocking relationships ofthe assembled corrugated desk of this invention are further illustratedin cross-sectional FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 which show the double and sometimestriple-walled construction present in the finally assembled desk.Referring first to FIG. 5, it can be seen that the desk top components,top panel 80, intermediate panel 81 and lower panel 82, are securelylocked in place by means of locking tabs 86 located on top panel 81which extend into and engage slots 88 in pedestal walls 66. Edges 83,shown in FIG. 5, and 85, shown in FIG. 6, of the top panel 80, in turn,extend around the periphery of the desk top. Edge 84 of lower panel 82,as shown in FIG. 6, extends downwardly between wall 66 of the outerpedestal shell and wall 65 of the inner pedestal shell to further lockthe pedestal shells and top assembly firmly in place. Finally, tabs 89are used to further secure edges 85 of top panel 80 in place as in FIG.4.

It should be noted that as a last step in assembly, the various drawers,such as that shown in FIG. 3, are insert ed into the assembled desk.FIG. 5 shows in crosssection corresponding inner flap 53, outer flap 52and intermediate flap 51 of letter-size drawer 18 in an assembledrelationship. Drawer stop tabs 90, as shown in FIGS. 5-7, are providedin drawer dividers 63 to prevent the inserted drawers from being pushedtoo deeply into the desk.

Thus, in accordance with this invention a completely corrugated, yethigh strength, collapsible desk is-provided which can be easilyassembled and disassembled with a minimum of time and effort. The woodgrain finit aesthetically pleasing, and the absence of any metal partsor frames make it extremely low-cost and less subject to permanentbending or oth'er'damage during shipping. In addition, all the deskcomponents are designed to be collapsed into a relatively flat shape,boxed and then easily moved from place to place. The collapsible featureof the desk makes it particularly suitable for use at conventions or inhotels where a periodic need for low-cost desks arises. In addition, thedesk is particularly suitable for use by students living in dormatoriesor other semi-permanent facilities.

The multi-layered, high strength, yet light-weight, materials used inassembling the desk, together with the unique interlocking relationshipsof the various desk components, make the desk sufficiently rigid for usein offices where heavy typewriters or other office equipment can beplaced on the desk.

Naturally, it should be understood that the collapsible corrugated deskembodiment described herein is merely illustrative of the invention, andcan be modified, altered or changed without departing from the spiritand scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A foldably constructible corrugated desk assembly comprising:

at least a pair of spaced pedestal shell means for forming a supportingsurface, said pedestal shell means having a back, front and twooppositely disposed side walls, said front wall having a plurality ofdivided openings;

a plurality of drawer-supporting divider means secured within saidpedestal shell means to support and receive a plurality of slidabledrawers;

a plurality of drawers slidably disposed within the divided openings onsaid pedestal shell means, and being slidably supported by saiddrawer-supporting divider means; and

a top panel in supporting engagement with the supporting surface formedby said pedestal shell means.

2. The corrugated desk assembly of claim 1 being further characterizedby a locking-panel section which extends across and is secured into thepair of spaced pedestal shell means to rigidize the pedestal shell meansand to form a modesty panel for the assembled desk.

3. The corrugated desk of claim 1 wherein said top panel comprises:

a lower panel section having a pair of oppositely disposedvertically-oriented edges for locking into each of said space pedestalshell means;

an intermediate support panel section disposed adjacent said lower panelsection; and

an exterior panel disposed adjacent said intermediate support panel,said exterior panel having a selfedged extension lip around theperiphery thereof which extends downwardly along the sides of saidpedestal shell means. i

4. The corrugated desk of claim 3 wherein said exterior panel is furtherprovided with a plurality of spaced locking tab means for locking saidexterior panel into said pedestal shell means.

5. The corrugated desk of claim 1 wherein said pedestal shell meanscomprises:

an outer foldable shell having a back, front and two oppositely disposedside-wall sections; and

an inner shell slidably disposed with said outer shell said inner shellcontaining said plurality of drawersupporting divider means.

6. The corrugated desk of claim 1 wherein the outer surfaces of saidpedestal shell means and said top panel have a wood grain finish.

7. The corrugated desk of claim 1 wherein said plurality of drawerscomprise both letter-size and file-size drawers.

8. The corrugated desk of claim 7 wherein each of said slidable drawersis provided with an opening adapted to receive self-locking handle.

1. A foldably constructible corrugated desk assembly comprising: atleast a pair of spaced pedestal shell means for forming a supportingsurface, said pedestal shell means having a back, front and twooppositely disposed side walls, said front wall having a plurality ofdivided openings; a plurality of drawer-supporting divider means securedwithin said pedestal shell means to support and receive a plurality ofslidable drawers; a plurality of drawers slidably disposed within thedivided openings on said pedestal shell means, and being slidablysupported by said drawer-supporting divider means; and a top panel insupporting engagement with the supporting surface formed by saidpedestal shell means.
 2. The corrugated desk assembly of claim 1 beingfurther characterized by a locking-panel section which extends acrossand is secured into the pair of spaced pedestal shell means to rigidizethe pedestal shell means and to form a modesty panel for the assembleddesk.
 3. The corrugated desk of claim 1 wherein said top panelcomprises: a lower panel section having a pair of oppositely disposedvertically-oriented edges for locking into each of said space pedesTalshell means; an intermediate support panel section disposed adjacentsaid lower panel section; and an exterior panel disposed adjacent saidintermediate support panel, said exterior panel having a self-edgedextension lip around the periphery thereof which extends downwardlyalong the sides of said pedestal shell means.
 4. The corrugated desk ofclaim 3 wherein said exterior panel is further provided with a pluralityof spaced locking tab means for locking said exterior panel into saidpedestal shell means.
 5. The corrugated desk of claim 1 wherein saidpedestal shell means comprises: an outer foldable shell having a back,front and two oppositely disposed side-wall sections; and an inner shellslidably disposed with said outer shell said inner shell containing saidplurality of drawer-supporting divider means.
 6. The corrugated desk ofclaim 1 wherein the outer surfaces of said pedestal shell means and saidtop panel have a wood grain finish.
 7. The corrugated desk of claim 1wherein said plurality of drawers comprise both letter-size andfile-size drawers.
 8. The corrugated desk of claim 7 wherein each ofsaid slidable drawers is provided with an opening adapted to receiveself-locking handle.